Look Again
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: "I kind of have a thing for redheads." ... "Maybe you should find another thing."


**A/N: This is what I get for listening to YJFanVids's RobArt playlist while writing a paper and talking to a friend. Shame. On. Me.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Inspired by a playlist on YouTube.**

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><p><em>Look Again<em>

She watched them go, both spitting out vile curses and fully-loaded threats as they took the fight outside, away from the rest of the team, away from the League, somewhere where no one could see if Wally gave Roy a black eye or if Roy snapped one of Wally's arms in two. She almost began to follow before deciding it wasn't even worth it.

Wally was nice. Wally was fine. Wally was entertaining. But Wally was so Wally that she couldn't stand being even near him. His science, his unnerving charisma, his bubbly excitement, it was all just so _not her_.

And Roy. Well he was Roy. His arms were so out of control that she had a sickening longing to just be his arm candy as long as she could feel his muscles. But he had no personality. He was… strong. And he was rude. And he was everything she never wanted.

But she still wanted both of them. Because they were good to her, or at least attempted to be good to her, good for her. And neither of them were perfect enough to make a difference. She couldn't stand Wally. She hated how empty Roy could be.

Yet they were both so excellent. The war within her heart raged as she watched them both walk through the zeta and out into the sunshine of a perfect day at Mount Justice if you ignored the ongoing battle of the archer and speedster.

"Can't pick?"

She turned, instinctively reaching for her quiver to draw an arrow, yet she didn't even have her crossbow close nor an arrow in sight, which was a stroke of luck for Robin as he leaned against the wall, watching her with a sad smile. "They're…" She drank in a deep breath and released it as a stressed, heavy sigh. "They're both… so…"

He let loose a short laugh, his gaze watching her expression fade to regret and fatigue. "You like them both," he said simply enough, pulling himself off the wall and sticking his hands in his pockets before shifting all his weight on one foot. "I get it."

"It's so much more complicated than that." Wally was nice. Roy was boring. Wally was annoying. Roy was sexy. There was no happy medium between the two. Deciphering the right choice was about the same as reading a Russian manual on diffusing a bomb. "I think the worst part is that I don't even know if I could love either of them."

He blinked slowly and took a quiet breath. "You're thinking more long-term."

"I have zero tolerance for the high school romance shit." She folded her arms across her chest and let her eyes fall to the floor. Artemis shook her head for a moment. "Which is exactly what Wally wants to leave it at and what Roy can't commit to."

"No middle ground," confirmed the masked vigilante, still watching her adamantly, watching every move she made and every gesture. She was frustrated, tired, defeated.

Artemis bit her lower lip. "The choice is neither, but I don't want to hurt them." She knew them both on such personal levels that she never thought of breaking their hearts. But it was getting the breaking point; she was just ready to leave it all behind and find someone halfway decent in Gotham. It was better than the alternative. "There's just too much _stuff_ going on to deal with any of it in the first place. And I don't want to pick between them or break their hearts, but both isn't an option."

He smirked. "No open relationships for you?"

She actually let out a true laugh. She looked up at the Boy Wonder with one brow raised. "With Roy, he'd probably end up sleeping with my sister, and chances are I'd walk in on Wally making out with Megan." Again, a laugh rang out, and she ran one hand through her blonde hair for a moment; Roy had pulled out her ponytail earlier, which Wally was quick to snap about. That was when the whole issue started unraveling, relationships fraying, seams ripping... "They may be able to deal with dating more than one person at a time, but I'd end up killing them because I can't handle that."

"So you're a jealous one?" he remarked quietly, going back to lean against the counter to keep his cool. The whole situation, the two people he considered as brothers at each others' throats, Artemis being treated like a trophy, had been rubbing him the wrong way for a while now. While Roy and Wally were probably beating their brains into puddles and knocking teeth out, he had his chance to step in and be some voice of reason to the puppet master.

Shooting him something of a glare, she chose not to respond to that.

"Alright, alright, backing off." He held his hands up surrender and gave a playful smile. His sunglasses hid the glittering laughter in his pristine cerulean eyes.

Another sigh escaped her lips. Maybe she was confiding in him because he was so neutral on the whole thing. Maybe she just needed someone to explain the whole thing to. Her mom was biased with Wally because Roy was too old for her. And M'gann wanted her to date Wally to get him off her back. Kaldur was rooting for Roy because Roy needed someone to keep him from doing stupid things. Sure, she could talk to Zatanna, but she was swooning over Roy herself some days, so what was the difference. And Conner was apathetic about the whole thing…

Robin just seemed… He seemed like middle ground.

"I just feel stupid for liking them in the first place. I knew it wouldn't last. Nothing ever could with those two." She let her shoulders drop and looked to the sky with closed eyes, wishing for some kind of guidance. If she could just find a way to get them away from each other and out of her hair, the whole problem would just disappear. And that was all she wanted.

"If you don't like them, why did you even try?" His black brows knit together with confusion, his nose wrinkling up in the same fashion.

She leaned against the counter and smiled sadly to herself before blinking open her eyes to look across the kitchen to the boy in blue, his hands retreated to his pockets, sunglasses perched perfectly on his face, his fifteen-year-old self all relaxed and so… traught. "I kind of have a thing for redheads." Shame made her look to the floor.

"Maybe you should find another thing. Look again," Robin offered softly, a coy smile touching his features as he began a silent, tactical retreat. "Avoiding redheads is probably your best bet."

When she looked up to thank him for truly sound advice, unbiased and honest, Artemis saw that the place in the kitchen he once filled was already empty, the only remnants of his presence being the sound of his voice still echoing in her head.

_Maybe you should find another thing. Look again._

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><p><strong>AN: Vague RobArt 'cause I can't do straight-up fluff, but he was totally referring to himself. He's so perfect for her, she just can't see it. So review?**

**~Sky**


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